Public figures have to be careful with every word they say, especially if you are a Republican.
While it seems that the left can do no wrong amongst each other, with their ever-changing standards, conservatives are berated for their constant and moral stance.
Not to say that no right-wing individual in the public spotlight hasn’t portrayed the occasional negative view, but most of the time they are in the media for standing for a party line view that liberals just don’t agree with.
Governor Matt Bevin of Kentucky has been in the Democrats’ crosshairs in recent weeks for vetoing a state budget that sought to increase classroom spending.
Teachers of Kentucky public schools gathered outside the State Capitol this past Friday to hold signs and express their fury at a pension reform bill that passed the House and Senate the night before.
In order for the teachers to be present at their loud, yet peaceful protest they did not show up for work; but many thought that was a justified reason to abandon their posts in the classroom.
So many teachers did not go into work on Friday that dozens of schools were forced to close, leaving frantic parents with very short notice to seek alternative care for their children.
USA Today reported:
“Teachers requesting absences to travel to Frankfort forced the closures of at least 39 school districts, including the state’s largest in Louisville and Lexington.”
Courier Journal reported:
“There were 123 schools with unfilled classrooms and around 20 schools with double-digit teacher absences.”
The actions of the Kentucky teachers prompted Governor Bevin to release a video discussing his disapproval of their absences, and the risks they put the children in.
Difficult comments were made by Bevin that outraged Democratic officials, and select right-wing members.
Fox News reported on those who were in opposition:
“The rebuke came in the form of two resolutions – one filed by Democrats, the other by state Rep. John Carney, a Republican who claimed about 30 others in the GOP supported his resolution, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.”
The comments addressed abuse and poisoning risks children may endure with nowhere to go during the day because of school closures.
USA Today reported on key statements Governor Bevin made in his initial response to the shutdowns:
“I guarantee you somewhere in Kentucky today, a child was sexually assaulted that was left at home because there was nobody there to watch them,” Bevin told reporters outside the Capitol. “I guarantee you somewhere today, a child was physically harmed or ingested poison because they were left alone because a single parent didn’t have any money to take care of them.”
After the uproar from several Democrats who claimed Bevin’s statements “Demonized” teachers, according to Bustle, an apology video was released.
The statements made by Bevin, although not well articulated, may have not been farfetched.
There is an abuse epidemic among children. The fact is that kids had to switch schedules, or go somewhere new in order to accommodate the teachers’ absences during the protest.
Ark of Hope For Children reported:
“Neglect makes up for 78% of all cases of child abuse, and is greatly under-reported and often unnoticed by others who care for the child. Neglect includes inadequate nutrition, clothing and hygiene; medical neglect, being left unattended in a car, and abandonment.”
And, according to the CDC, more than 300 children a day in the U.S. are treated by emergency personnel for poisoning.
It was not even mentioned about the 480,000 kids in Kentucky who depend on the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to provide their lunches, according to Benefits.gov.
Another ironic position is that many of the teachers, in a dishonest move, called out sick to make it to the Capitol Friday, using state funds to pay for their policy rebuttals.
USA Today reported on the governor’s public apology:
“The words that people say can have unintended consequences,” Bevin said in a video. “I apologize for those who have been hurt by the things that were said. … It was not my intent.”
Bevin, also, said that he was thankful for those who “understand” what he was trying to say, according to Fox News.
The Kentucky governor’s statement of concern for the children who were left alone, or with people they did not know, on Friday never mentioned teachers being unimportant people.
Teachers are vital members to modern society, where they enrich the lives of many children.
Their choice to leave on a whim because they’re upset about their pensions, thus abandoning hundreds of their students, was not a decision based on the kids’ best interest.
While wording could have been improved in Bevin’s statement, it wasn’t incorrect that the teachers’ actions left parents and children in a precarious situation and may have even caused preventable danger.
It seems the liberals’ guilt has caused them to lash out on anyone who points out their poor conduct.
Please let us know in the comments section if you think Bevin should not have made his statements, or if the teachers were wrong in not showing up for work last Friday.